Fall Fun

I'm making a promise to update our blog more often...I swear! Here are a few pictures we have taken over the last several weeks. We've been really busy going to different fall festivals , taking bike rides in the park, and hanging out with the fam. Ava is learning so much everyday and she's starting to repeat a bunch of words-we have to be careful of what we say now! She still loves being outside, playing with her Opa (Mark's dad), and getting into trouble!!

We went to the Durham Harvest Festival and Ava rode a pony-the pony's name was Annie Oakley. She didn't know what to think at first, but she got used to it and ended up letting go of my hand to hold on by herself.

Ava enjoying Annie Oakley.

Aunt Jenny was feeding Ava a push-up...I think she liked it! What a goofball!

Macy and Ava--Macy gave this purse and hat to Ava, Ava loves to wear them all the time!

Ava loves putting my shoes on, it doesn't matter which pair. She is so proud of herself when she gets them on, but gets so frustrated when they slip off. Here she is pushing her lawn mower around the kitchen in Mommy's shoes.

Turtle Bay

We went to Turtle Bay, in Redding the other weekend. It's only about 1 hour away and it's a neat "adventure center". We went to the aviary to check out the birds, which Ava loved! She wanted to hold them and kept trying to grab them by the neck! We also went into the area where they keep all of the butterflies, but there wasn't enough action for Ava--she wanted to keep moving. They are currently having an exibit called 'Bodies Revealed'-so cool! There were actual preserved bodies that showcased the different systems in the human body (circulatory, digestive, muscular, etc.). Cameras weren't allowed, so I don't have any pictures. It was really amazing though.

Ava pointing at one of the birds before she tried to reach for it!

Can you see the mischievous look in her eyes?

Ava talking to the fish. She can say "fish", but usually it's referring to the goldfish snacks that she likes.

Ava doing a little dance in one of the tee-pees. She would push one of those buttons behind her and music would start playing. She cracks us up!

Fun pics!

It's been awhile since I last posted anything. I have been taking lots of pictures of Ava over the last couple of weeks, surprise, surprise! She is growing so fast! She runs (not walks) everywhere-no more crawling. She can point to her nose, her toes, her ears, her hair, her belly button and her tongue. She nods for "yes" and I'm hoping she doesn't learn "no" for quite awhile. She is becoming quite the entertainer. Here are a few random pictures I thought I would share.

Ava, wearing her shades. Mark says she looks like Elton John in this pair!

Ava, being a goofball. She pulled this hat out of a basket and kept wanting me to put it on her head. She would run around the house, pull it off, and come back over to me to put it back on!

Ava playing in the water at Grandma and Grandpa's in their backyard in Lincoln.

Ava's first time on a boat! She loved it-she seemed to be relaxed by the noise and it almost put her to sleep.

Ava and Emma hanging out at the lake. This was Emma's chair and Ava loved it. Emma has a little brother and sister (twins) that are Ava's age, so she's really good with Ava.

Mark and Ava getting ready for a bike ride through the park. If anyone is looking for a bike seat-get this one! It sits in the front so they can see everything. Ava absolutely loves it! We've been on so many bike rides since we got this seat.

Ava, with her helmet, ready to go!

A Busy 4th of July!

We had a great 4th of July this year! The weather was perfect and the smoke seemed to go away for the day (for those of you who don't watch the news, just about all of Northern California is on fire...the smoke has been absolutely horrible! Several of our friends have been evacuated from their homes and it only seems to be getting worse-pray for rain!!).

We started 4th of July morning off by going to Raymond and Jenny's orchard. They invited a bunch of people for pumpkin planting. What a great idea! The pumpkins should be ready by Halloween. Ava and I planted some seeds-we'll have to watch them grow...

Miss Ava tried to keep cool by eating some watermelon.

Mark took Ava for a ride on Raymond's tractor. If you look close, you'll see she's near tears. She didn't like the noise of the tractor.

We then headed to Cindy and John's house for a BBQ (Cindy watches Ava two days a week). There was lots of food, fun and swimming. Cindy had a baby pool set up for Ava, but she wanted to be where the action was-in the big kid's pool!

Ava, in the pool for the third time. She would not get out!! I think I stood in there for about an hour!! She was getting pretty brave-she wanted to let go of my hands and go under the water!

Ava, giving Lucy a little lovin'. She learned how to give Lucy hugs a few weeks ago and does it all the time now. Lucy's so good with her, I think she might be smiling in this picture.

We left Cindy and John's and actually had plans to go watch some fireworks. Ava fell sound asleep as soon as we got in the car. I felt so bad, I didn't want to wake her up. We just went home and she ended up sleeping for 12 hours that night-what a party girl! I guess she'll have to wait until next year to see some fireworks...

We have a walker!!

Ava is walking!! She started really walking over the weekend and has almost given up on crawling. Mark bought her pink vans (s0 cute!) this weekend and he swears the shoes helped! She is so proud of herself when she walks--she smiles so big. She holds her arms out in front of her, Mark says she looks like baby Frankenstein. I keep thinking she can't possibly get into anymore than she already does now that she's walking...right? I think I have a lot to learn--after I videotaped her walking around the house I turned around for 2 seconds (literally) to plug my camera in...I turned back around and Ava had climbed up on our dog, Lucy, and was straddling her like a horse! She was laughing and kicking her legs! I would've grabbed my camera to take a picture (it was pretty hilarious), but I was afraid Lucy was going to stand up with Ava on her back and take her for a wild ride. I think we're all going to learn a lot over the next couple of months.

You aint nothin' but a hound dog!

Ava had her doctor's appointment on Thursday and had her chicken pox vaccination. I was nervous, but it wasn't bad at all. She barely flinched. I did pretty good too! She weighs 20 lbs exactly and is 30 1/2 inches long. The doctor said she looks great, he also noticed that she was an "active" baby...no kidding!! He said he could see a little mischief in her eyes--Mark says she gets it from me!

Some things about Ava at 1 year old:

• Words she can say: mama, dada, uh-oh, hot, hi
• Favorite foods: strawberries, turkey, cantaloupe, mommy's spaghetti (read previous post)
• Favorite toys: yellow giraffe, Elmo, push lawn-mower, Pretty Princess trike
• Best friends: Kaycee, Hannah, McKenna, Spencer, Nora
• Just started: blowing kisses, whispering
• Does all the time: says hi to strangers (we'll have to work on that) and dances!!...to any and every kind of music
• Loves to: swing with Opa, pet Lucy, walk with anyone that will hold her hands

Yummy!!

Ok- I do take more pictures than just of Ava in her highchair or at mealtimes...but this was hilarious! She had my spaghetti for the first time (instead of the baby food spaghetti she used to eat) and she absolutely loved it! I couldn't put it on her tray fast enough. She was shoveling it in! I grabbed my camera and she got super excited--she was cracking us up!